A NEWSPAPER report of ‘irregularities’ in a York workhouse has provided inspiration for a new exhibition launching this weekend.

Shush, Snip, Rip is a disability arts showcase taking place at Explore York Libraries and Archives in Museum Street between Friday, July 12 and Sunday, July 14.

Organisers said it explores the histories of disabled people and is inspired by collections in the city’s archives.

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The exhibition is the culmination of a year-long collaboration between disabled artists and two organisations for disabled people, York People First and Blueberry Academy.

Becca Cooper, self-advocate and chair of York People First, said: “It’s been good to look in the archive, to see how things were years ago for people with learning difficulties.

“It does feel like history repeats itself though.

“I wonder if there is sometimes an invisible workhouse at work today that continues to hold people with learning difficulties back from being fully part of society.”

Organisers said those involved explored York’s archive collections through the lens of disability arts and found untold stories and achievements of disabled people and communities.

'We can explore what has changed, or not, and imagine what might be needed for a brighter, more inclusive future'

In one example, the archive examined reporting in an 1899 newspaper copy of The Yorkshire Herald on a meeting of the ‘Board of Guardians’ of the York Union Workhouse in Huntington Road, which twenty years earlier had housed 717 ‘inmates’, using the language of the time, who 'could not provide for, or look after themselves'.

Two examples of neglect and dereliction of duty were found towards ‘inmates’ given the definition at the time of 'imbecile', whose information was cross-referenced against both the 1891 and 1901 census.

One of the two were recorded in the 1891 census as 'deaf and blind' and the other as 'imbecile since birth'.

The exhibition features work by York community artist Stephen Lee Hodgkins, award-winning multimedia artist Alfie Fox, Pyramid Arts and artist Kerry Fox.

Stephen Lee Hodgkins said: “By using a disability arts-based approach, rooted in the lived experiences of disabled people and their families, we can explore what has changed, or not, and imagine what might be needed for a brighter, more inclusive future.”

Barbara Swinn BEM, head of audience development and engagement at Explore York, said: “This exhibition showcases collaboration and the creativity of local disabled artists, and disability groups.

Shush Snip Rip is a highlight of Explore’s NPO programme and shows our commitment to reducing barriers and increasing access to our archive collections.

“We invite everyone to explore these important stories.”

Shush, Snip, Rip will include a visual art exhibition, installation, and immersive experience and is part of Explore York’s NPO activity programme delivering Arts Council England’s “Let’s Create” strategy.